Hiking with the pup

Let's go already!

Zuko loves going hiking with me - the more uphill the better too. He knows when we are about to go hiking and he will circle and circle me. One day, he finally just gave up (with a huff) and sat by the door watching me to get ready.

The Bay Area has tons of hiking, though not all allow dogs (even on leash) and we are working our way through  many new (to us trails). However, with the dry season approaching, there are now also some big risks on the trails.

Poison Oak

"Leaves of three, leave it be". Try explaining that to a Shiba. Dogs can be effected by it, but can also pass the oil to their people - and we react much more strongly. 

Foxtail - not of the cute ShibaFox variety

Then there are foxtails. These are all over in the Bay Area and as they dry out, they can be deadly to dogs. They rapidly embed in the skin and typically need to be removed by a vet. There is risk of them getting in a dog's nose and causing major surgery, even death. Shibas' have such thick fur, that Zuko seems to have some protection from these. I have found a foxtail on him but it hadn't managed to work it's way through the masses of Shiba fur to his skin. Meanwhile, I've had one work through the netting in my running shoe and hurt like hell. 

Thistles

And then there are the thistles. These are also wildly abundant and common. They don't seem to pose much risk for dogs unless they frolic in them or try to eat them. The bigger issue is for the humans. Zuko tends to like to pee on them. 

Zuko has gotten solid enough at recall that there are times I wonder if I could hike with him off-leash. Here is the scenario that stops me: 1) Zuko gets the zoomies in field of foxtails then 2) runs through a big patch of poison oak only to 3) get stuck in a patch of thistles. I have to dive in and save him then 1) head to the hospital to get a cortisone shot for the poison oak and 2) have a foxtail dug out of my leg and 3) get antibiotics for the infected thistle scratches I have. Meanwhile, Zuko is having a good nap on my bed and shedding on my pillow. 

-- Posted by Zuko's sarcastic mom

Official Vet Report: "He's a Chill Shiba"

There have been so many sad reports about Shibas on the internet lately. And each time I read one, I force-snuggle Zuko and tell him he has to live forever. To help ensure that, I scheduled a vet appointment and took him in for a full check-up. He more or less seems like a super-healthy dog, but I can be a bit of a paranoid puppy mommy at times.

Chilling

I'll say upfront: our vet is amazing. He really likes Shibas and has worked with them a good bit. I like him both as a doctor and as a person. He never says "do this" - instead he says "this is what I think and would recommend, but it is your choice". He gives you the information and let's you stay in charge of your pet's health.

First thing that came out in the exam was Zuko is a bit chunky. I knew it as soon as he stepped on the scale: 31 pounds. He was 28 pounds. Oops. Someone has been getting a little too much cheese! The doc said it wasn't too bad and Zuko carries it well, but he'd be better off a couple pounds lighter.

The rest of his physical exam was good: heart, lungs and so forth - all good. Teeth are starting to get some plaque but not too bad. During this entire time Zuko was standing on the table being a good dog. He wasn't thrilled, but no shaking, no whining, just the "martyred Shiba" look. Of course, he was also getting a little bit of spray cheese, so it wasn't all that bad.

Then came time for the blood draw. Oh boy. Our vet did it there in the room with me present and two nurses holding Zuko. I was ready for the Shiba scream. I was ready for thrashing, violent craziness. Nothing. I am not kidding - he didn't even whine. He did tuck his tail, which is the first time I've ever seen it truly tucked! I was so proud of the little dude I gave him tons more spray cheese. As soon as he came off the table, the tail curled back up and he decided he wanted to go explore the rest of the clinic since his leash wasn't yet attached. As usual, he bounces right back after "trauma".

So why the bloodwork? I told the vet I have a lazy Shiba. He gets the zoomies, he goes nuts at the beach, he's a monster at daycare - but given what I have always heard about the breed, he seems lazy. And I wanted to rule out any underlying medical issues. The doctor tested his thyroid and blood levels, and checked for heartworm. We received the results Saturday morning: all clear.

Official vet report: "He's a chill Shiba". We have that shocking rare Shiba, probably almost as rare as a Shibasquatch*: a mellow, chill Shiba.

One final note: We did start him on Heartgard. Northern California rarely has cases of heartworm due to the fact we really don't have many mosquitoes here. Dr. Layba has never recommended it, but we discussed it this time. He said he and his fellow Bay Area vets have seen a slight rise (meaning a couple cases a year) and if Zuko is what he called an "adventure dog" and goes everywhere with us, then it would not hurt to have him on it. I tend to believe we over medicate ourselves and our animals, but I also believe in preventative care so I made the decision to start him on it. Of course, the nice tasty chewable "pill" was rejected by Zuko. I broke it up into smaller pieces and he spit them out. So I had to wrap each piece in cheese to get it in him. Day one of his diet and he figured out how to get a whole slice of American cheese!!

-- Posted by Paranoid Puppy Mommy

*Shibasquatch is a Twitter hashtag reporting the odd occurrences of a Shiba being spotted off-leash and behaving. Much like the Sasquatch, the Shibasquatch has true believers and those who think this is just a myth. For more information, run a Twitter search!

"I believe in Shibasquatch"

Itchy-itchy, Scratchy-scratchy

The Twitterverse seems to be full of Zuko's Shiba friends really struggling with allergies. Reports come in from everywhere and for some Shibas, there seems to be no relief in sight.

Wide open spaces are awesome - for allegies!

I decided to log all the remedies I've been seeing, in order of "extreme" nature of the treatment.

• Raw food diet: Taro the Shiba reported scratchy ears that had no cause that could be found. Switching to a raw diet cleared up the issues and landed him a spot as a customer testimonial. For Zuko, we have had him on a raw diet almost since we first had him. He was a super-scratchy puppy and switching to the raw diet seemed to alleviate most of the itchiness. 
• Supplements: Omega-3 supplements have been widely suggested by many Shiba owners and other dog (and cat!) owners as beneficial. Our breeder also recommended Vitamin E and kelp. The kelp isn't easy to find and can be pricey - but a small bag goes a long way. We use Pet Kelp. Zuko gets a small sprinkle of it with his breakfast, along with some Vitamin E drops I found in the humans' drugstore.
• Cleaning Shiba feet / legs and paws after going outside: This is probably a really extreme measure even though it sounds simple (Insert sound bite of a Shiba screaming: don't touch my feet!!!!!).  There are packaged wipes for this or just a damp cloth can make a difference. Zuko has a melt-down if I even think of touching his feet so we don't usually bother with this. I have heard a few owners say it makes a huge difference, especially when there is visible pollen on the ground. 
• Hot spot / anti-itch sprays: Again - queue the Shiba Scream for most of us on this one. My favorite product is Earthbath Hot Spot Spritz. It seems to help the itching but also tastes nasty enough that Zuko is less inclined to lick obsessively at times.
• Flea / tick allergies: According to the National Shiba Inu Club of America, flea allergies are one of the number one health complaints for Shibas. This is complicated by some dogs have an allergic reaction to Frontline or Advantage. Our friend Princess in Orlando switched to Comfortis to help with an allergic reaction to the topical flea and tick prevention methods. Staying up to date on flea and tick control can make a huge difference for your Shiba.
• Benedryl: I blogged about the dosage of Benedryl here, and also recommended finding the dye-free pills. Hot pink dye just can't really be good for anyone suffering allergies (human or canine). This isn't a sure-fire fix for many dogs and has a the soporific side effect. 
• Atopica: The Misanthropic Shiba has been having success with this medication, but it appears to only be available in Canada. More info can be found on their website.
• Colloidal Oatmeal bath: Again, this should not be "extreme" but how many Shibas can be bathed without drama? Also - too many baths will reduce their natural oils and possibly complicate the situation. You don't always need suds in a bath, just something to soothe the problem. I cheat on this one. A good Shiba mommy would probably cook oatmeal and make this from scratch. I buy the Aveeno packets. Always good to have on hand for people and puppies.
• The last resort - Prednisone and corticosteroids: The can have wide-ranging side effects and most vets will discourage their use unless there is just no other way. This is actually true for human allergy sufferers also - an emergency shot of this stuff is avoided in all but extreme cases. Last summer Zuko went off the deep-end suddenly with his allergies and scratched his muzzle raw. The vet gave him an injection and he was on pills for several days after. He peed more often and was grouchy as heck the whole time. Not something I want to go through again.

Over at the House of Two Bows, they have made some interesting discoveries about hypothyroidism and the symptoms. It appears to have similar characteristics to those of allergies and they have started Bowdu on thyroid supplements. We are all watching to see how it goes for the little guy. The lesson from this is just don't assume it is allergies! 

What have I missed? Please comment and share your success stories with allergies and what you've learned to avoid.

-- Posted by Zuko's mom

Essentials: Shiba Health and Wellness

Medical:

Experience has made me believe Shibas mature fast. Zuko had great bladder control early, had all his adult teeth by five months and was hiking a leg to pee at about four and a half months. We had him neutered at five months and both of his boys where there and fully dropped. Teething wasn't too bad for us. He loves bully sticks but scorned Nylabones. He also liked ropes and Kongs for chewing. Plastic water bottles are a favorite since they move and crunch and are noisy. Only once did he damage anything when he was a puppy - I had not put a big enough selection of chewies in his ex-pen and we came home to find he'd chewed the wood trim by the wall. Now he's just over 18 months old and he has the calm confidence of an older dog and was full size since last summer - people are always surprised how young he is when they ask his age. The only major physical change over the past 6 months has been the fading of the black on his muzzle and he seems to look more "wolfy" and less "teddy bear".

Cute and he knows it - at only 5 weeks!

Our biggest medical challenge was diarrhea. Cheese doesn't agree with him and he picked up giardia in daycare and this year with the rain and mud he has diarrhea again. As he has got older, the cheese doesn't trigger problems anymore, but he only gets it in small doses when we are doing training exercises.  We do feed him people food - I know some people will condemn us for this, but he gets small bits of carrots, apples and bananas, almonds and dried cranberries, fish, eggs and meat that doesn't have any sauce on it. On special days he might get a few pieces of mac and cheese if I'm in the mood to share. While he steals the occasional corn tortilla chip, we avoid corn and wheat in general in his food and treats. As a puppy, these ingredients seemed to contribute to his tummy problems and itchy skin and it is pretty easy to avoid them. By avoiding them most of the time, when he does stumble onto something with corn or wheat in it, he does just fine.

The only other medical challenge we have had are allergies. Besides the suspected food allergies (wheat and corn) he definitely has seasonal allergies. He had goopy eyes and was very sneezy his first winter with us. Then, late last summer, at about 9 months old, he scratched his muzzle so hard he had a bald spot. He was frequently chewing his legs and feet and scratching at his neck. We took him into our vet (who is awesome) and he said that time of year in SF was trouble for many, many dogs. This winter and spring, as the rains have fallen and things are blooming again, we've noticed he started getting sneezy and itchy starting around the February timeframe. We clean off his feet and legs when needed and if he's really struggling we slip him some Benedryl before bed. Overall though, it seems much better this year than it was last winter and the Benedryl is rarely needed. The goopy eyes are a thing of the past and he hasn't scratched enough to rub off his fur. So not sure if he is just acclimating to the San Francisco allergen system or "growing out" of his allergies like human children do sometimes.

About Benedryl: my aunt is a vet-tech and he suggested about 1/2 an adult Benedryl per 15 pounds of dog or 1mg per pound of doggy body weight. Since Zuko is about 27-28 pounds, she said he would be fine with a full pill, but suggested we test a half dose first and go up if needed. He's fine on a full pill, but does get sleepy. The antihistamine effects seem to carry over to the next day a bit also so we only use it at night. We use this very, very rarely but we have it as part of our doggie medical kit. We also buy the dye-free pills: why add one more element (hot pink dye) into an allergy situation?

He picked up some type of doggie flu/cold this spring: it could have been kennel cough though he's vaccinated. It only lasted a week and wasn't too severe.

Otherwise, he's a darn healthy dog. At 27 pounds he's not fat (at 28 pounds he's starting to push his limits) and he is solid and a bit bigger than the average size for a Shiba. His coat is good, his teeth are good and his energy is good (too good sometimes!). With the allergies more manageable this year, he's in full Shiba excellent form!

--- Posted by Zuko's parents, M.D.